this week...

has flown by...again!!!

my focus this week has been on mikeC's house.... the master bedroom is almost complete... as he has mentioned on his blog..he's actually sleeping in his bed...and seems to be enjoying it...!!! i must admit this makes me smile...with much happiness!!!

this has been a challenging project... challenging in the way of organization and sensitivity.... fortunately...i planned out how to approach the project...while he is still living in his house... beginning in the back of the house then moving forward... cleaning...clearing...organizing...boxing... throwing away... giving away.... etc...
my son and i cleaned the dining room....it took a couple of days... mike working with us... so we didn't accidentally throw something away that might be of importance... this has been the trickiest part of the project... early on... learning...NOT to throw away anything without running it by mike first... some things are obvious...others not so much...
yesterday...was so so fun for me... in his dining room stands a china cabinet...matching his dining room table and chairs... inside...filled with junk...or so it appeared...covered in dust... and more dust...mixed with layers of cat hair...so... i began removing all the things inside the cabinet...and cleaned it... this is where it got fun.. inside that cabinet...was an amazing assortment of trinkets...representing mikeC's life...his ancestors... incredible... so being the girly girl i am... i cleaned each thing...and carefully arranged all his wonderful treasures..for viewing... there is a violin..his grandfather hand crafted...the bow..the case...there are several hand painted china plates... a vase...pitcher... sugar bowl and creamer...all painted by his mother and grandmother... signed and dated...i found 3 framed floral needle points ... done by his mother... a box of photos dating back to WWI... hand turned wooden bowls... his grandmother collected... election buttons... dating back to cleveland...harding... fdr...teddy... i felt like a kid in a candy store... there were a half dozen framed photographs... the cabinet is a museum of mike's life... this may sound silly... the bedroom was labor intensive...and took a long time to get done... but i felt such a sense of accomplishment... over his china cabinet... i LOVE the china cabinet...!!!

i then began to clear out all the boxes and things i had already prepared in the back room which now needed to be moved in order to begin the re-do...he has boxes and boxes of books... a box full of albums... boxes and boxes of art supplies... an artist dream... trust me...i got wet just going through his art supplies... in this way...mike and i are quite similar... lots and lots of art supplies...!!!

today...the re-do on the back room begins... transforming it from 1980's pink with floral valances.... mauve mini blinds... scraping the ceiling... remove the pink crown molding... and begin to create a magical space for mike... a space...with a big..comfy chair.... shelves filled with his collection of books... new updated window treatments.... freshly painted walls and ceiling...new molding... oh...it will be spectacular...!!!

there is this feeling that comes with accomplishment.... not pride...not success...but something much greater.... it's indescribable...really ... while i'm in the middle of the project...i'm a part of it...it exists within me...and i within it... when it is complete... and i step away...it no longer is a part of me.... it is now... standing on it's own....when i look upon my creation... i'm always...always amazed...at the end result...wondering... where did that come from...it's almost like i had nothing at all to do with it...

my greatest hope is....when i am complete... that mikeC... loves what i have done for him... that when he opens his front door...and sees his home...he loves it... he absolutely loves it...!!!